NEW Sponsor Couple Training Program
If we knew 50 years ago what we know today about marriage, the divorce rate would be significantly lower. Today, we literally have marriage down to a science. The explosion in marriage research over the past 40 years has revolutionized the way we are now able to prepare engaged couples for marriage and be confident that we are guiding them to a lifelong journey of deep joy with each other.
Coaching to Connect has developed a new marriage preparation program that trains sponsor couples to mentor engaged couples using the insights of marriage research and practice giants such as Dr. John Gottman, Dr. Susan Johnson and Dr. Willard Harley.
Couples will discern the top emotional needs that must be addressed in their unique relationship. This program is designed to be customizable to the particular relationship of each couple that comes to you. It is not a one-size-fits-all program. Couples will also learn about the most common behaviors and attitudes that destroy marriages every day in our country and be given guidance on how to avoid them. This is the most practical and relevant program you can offer to engaged couples.
The sponsor couples who offer it will also be given the opportunity to see their own marriages in a new light. They will renew their love for each other as they explore their own particular needs as well as their tendencies that harm their relationships.
Our program leaves the theology of marriage in your hands. While each session opens with a prayer built around a key Scripture, this program respects the local church's responsibility to teach faith. You'll find it easy to use our program in a manner that is consistent with, rather than in conflict with, your church's unique faith formation mission. Sponsor couples will focus on helping engaged couples develop the essential skills that are necessary for a long and happy marriage. The engaged couples will explore the religious convictions that you have been teaching them for years and the spiritual dispositions that they have absorbed from the culture of your community as important foundations of family life.
Free Sample Pages
Click Here for sample pages of our manual.
Training Details
4 trainings session
1. Understanding the Power of Attraction
The experience of attraction is what brings couples together. It seems like magic, but it's not. Our program will help engaged couples become aware of why they are in love with each other and how to practice marriage in a way that sustains a high level of attraction for a lifetime.
2. Identifying and Meeting the Most Important Marriage Needs
Based upon studies with thousands of married couples over four decades, marriage researchers have been able to identify the most important needs that must be met in order for any marriage to thrive. Each couple experiences and meets these needs in a unique way. Rather than imposing a cookie-cutter way of practicing marriage, our program will tap into the distinct personality of each couple and empower them to create the marriage of their dreams by bringing their partner's highest identified needs to the center of their daily marriage practice.
3. Identifying and Avoiding Marriage Disaster Habits
Dr. John Gottman calls them the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Dr. Willard Harley calls them Love Busters. These are the common practices that lead couples to misery and divorce. Engaged couples are in the privileged position of being able to nip these practices in the bud. The Coaching to Connect Sponsor Couple program will give the couples a clear and simple way to understand these destructive habits and practical strategies for either overcoming them or avoiding them altogether.
4. Implementing the Coaching to Connect Sponsor Couple Program
Our training program is designed to build confidence in your sponsor couples by providing them with clear and simple instructions on how to facilitate the sessions with the engaged couples. The training will not only increase their knowledge of effective marriage practices, but will also develop their facilitation skills by preparing them to both teach and coach the engaged couples.
Training Options
1. On-Site Training
Jim Merhaut comes to your site and offers the four training sessions over two days. You may invite other local churches to participate and share the cost.
2. Webinar Training
Jim Merhaut will host a series of four 90-minute webinars. Your sponsor couples may attend from the comfort of their homes, or you can gather them at your church to experience the webinar sessions together. Up to 25 couples can participate in the webinar. You may invite other churches to participate and share the cost.
Other Recommended Resources
Your sponsor couples will be significantly more effective if they develop a working knowledge of the latest developments in marriage theory and research. While they can't be expected to absorb the scientific publications on marriage, there are many resources that make the field literature accessible for the laity. Here are a few highly recommended resources for the library of any person who works with engaged couples:
If we knew 50 years ago what we know today about marriage, the divorce rate would be significantly lower. Today, we literally have marriage down to a science. The explosion in marriage research over the past 40 years has revolutionized the way we are now able to prepare engaged couples for marriage and be confident that we are guiding them to a lifelong journey of deep joy with each other.
Coaching to Connect has developed a new marriage preparation program that trains sponsor couples to mentor engaged couples using the insights of marriage research and practice giants such as Dr. John Gottman, Dr. Susan Johnson and Dr. Willard Harley.
Couples will discern the top emotional needs that must be addressed in their unique relationship. This program is designed to be customizable to the particular relationship of each couple that comes to you. It is not a one-size-fits-all program. Couples will also learn about the most common behaviors and attitudes that destroy marriages every day in our country and be given guidance on how to avoid them. This is the most practical and relevant program you can offer to engaged couples.
The sponsor couples who offer it will also be given the opportunity to see their own marriages in a new light. They will renew their love for each other as they explore their own particular needs as well as their tendencies that harm their relationships.
Our program leaves the theology of marriage in your hands. While each session opens with a prayer built around a key Scripture, this program respects the local church's responsibility to teach faith. You'll find it easy to use our program in a manner that is consistent with, rather than in conflict with, your church's unique faith formation mission. Sponsor couples will focus on helping engaged couples develop the essential skills that are necessary for a long and happy marriage. The engaged couples will explore the religious convictions that you have been teaching them for years and the spiritual dispositions that they have absorbed from the culture of your community as important foundations of family life.
Free Sample Pages
Click Here for sample pages of our manual.
Training Details
4 trainings session
1. Understanding the Power of Attraction
The experience of attraction is what brings couples together. It seems like magic, but it's not. Our program will help engaged couples become aware of why they are in love with each other and how to practice marriage in a way that sustains a high level of attraction for a lifetime.
2. Identifying and Meeting the Most Important Marriage Needs
Based upon studies with thousands of married couples over four decades, marriage researchers have been able to identify the most important needs that must be met in order for any marriage to thrive. Each couple experiences and meets these needs in a unique way. Rather than imposing a cookie-cutter way of practicing marriage, our program will tap into the distinct personality of each couple and empower them to create the marriage of their dreams by bringing their partner's highest identified needs to the center of their daily marriage practice.
3. Identifying and Avoiding Marriage Disaster Habits
Dr. John Gottman calls them the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Dr. Willard Harley calls them Love Busters. These are the common practices that lead couples to misery and divorce. Engaged couples are in the privileged position of being able to nip these practices in the bud. The Coaching to Connect Sponsor Couple program will give the couples a clear and simple way to understand these destructive habits and practical strategies for either overcoming them or avoiding them altogether.
4. Implementing the Coaching to Connect Sponsor Couple Program
Our training program is designed to build confidence in your sponsor couples by providing them with clear and simple instructions on how to facilitate the sessions with the engaged couples. The training will not only increase their knowledge of effective marriage practices, but will also develop their facilitation skills by preparing them to both teach and coach the engaged couples.
Training Options
1. On-Site Training
Jim Merhaut comes to your site and offers the four training sessions over two days. You may invite other local churches to participate and share the cost.
2. Webinar Training
Jim Merhaut will host a series of four 90-minute webinars. Your sponsor couples may attend from the comfort of their homes, or you can gather them at your church to experience the webinar sessions together. Up to 25 couples can participate in the webinar. You may invite other churches to participate and share the cost.
Other Recommended Resources
Your sponsor couples will be significantly more effective if they develop a working knowledge of the latest developments in marriage theory and research. While they can't be expected to absorb the scientific publications on marriage, there are many resources that make the field literature accessible for the laity. Here are a few highly recommended resources for the library of any person who works with engaged couples:
- His Needs, Her Needs by Dr. Willard Harley
- Love Busters by Dr. Willard Harley
- The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work by Dr. John Gottman and Nan Silver
Meet Your Trainer
Jim Merhaut is a relationship coach, ministry consultant, leadership trainer/coach, writer, and national speaker. He holds a Master of Science degree in Religious Education from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He is an author and co-author of nine books and dozens of other publications and is the author of the Coaching to Connect Sponsor Couple Manual. Jim’s most recent book is Generations Together: Caring, Praying, Learning, Celebrating & Serving Faithfully, and he is currently co-authoring a book on adult faith formation. He is a student at the Institute for Life Coach Training and a ministry leadership coach for Vibrant Faith Ministries as well as leadership trainer/author for Lifelong Faith Associates. Jim is a 28-year veteran in Church ministry having worked at the local and national levels. He most recently served as the Project Coordinator for Lifelong Faith Formation Services at the Center for Ministry Development and was the President and CEO of Villa Maria Education & Spirituality Center. Jim has offered keynotes, retreats and workshops around the country, specializing in ministry leadership, marriage skills and lifelong faith formation. Jim and his wife, Debbie, have five children and reside in Ohio where they enjoy organic vegetable gardening, raising small livestock, and pursuing a simple lifestyle.
How Can We Get Started?
Fill our the form below or contact us at Coaching to Connect to discuss your options.
[email protected]
330-261-1630
How Can We Get Started?
Fill our the form below or contact us at Coaching to Connect to discuss your options.
[email protected]
330-261-1630